Transfer chamber for flat display device manufacturing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A transfer chamber for a flat display device manufacturing apparatus is provided. The transfer chamber may provide a combination of the functions of a transfer and a load-lock chamber. A robot may be provided aside from a center of the transfer chamber, a buffer may be provided and be driven without interference with the robot, and an aligner may be provided to adjust a position of a substrate mounted on the buffer. A sealing member may be provided to seal a hole formed at a predetermined portion of the transfer chamber.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of and claims the benefit of pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/978,967, entitled Transfer ChamberFor Flat Display Device Manufacturing Apparatus, filed on Nov. 1, 2004,which claims priority under The Paris Convention for the Protection ofIndustrial Property to Korean Application No. 2003-77631 filed on Nov.4, 2003, Korean Application No. 2003-77633 filed on Nov. 4, 2003, andKorean Application No. 2003-80413 filed on Nov. 14, 2003, all of whichare hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a transfer chamber for a flat displaydevice manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to a transferchamber for a flat display device manufacturing apparatus, having acombination of functions of transfer and load-lock chambers, in which arobot is provided aside from a center of the transfer chamber, a bufferis provided to be driven without interference of the robot, and analigner is provided to adjust a position of a substance mounted on thebuffer.

2. Description of Related Art

In general, a three-chamber type flat display device manufacturingapparatus has been used. The three-chamber type flat display devicemanufacturing apparatus has tree chambers: a load-lock chamber, atransfer chamber, and a process chamber. As the size of a substrateincreases, there is a problem in that the size of the chambersproportionally increase. Since increase in the size of chamber has alimitation, a two-chamber type flat display device manufacturingapparatus has recently been proposed. In the two-chamber flat displaydevice manufacturing apparatus, the load-lock and transfer chambers arecombined as a single transfer chamber. Therefore, the two-chamber typeflat display device manufacturing apparatus has transfer and processchambers. As a result, the volume of the flat display devicemanufacturing apparatus can be reduced. Accordingly, a volume of a cleanroom where the flat display device manufacturing apparatus is installedcan be reduced.

Like the transfer chamber of the three-chamber flat display devicemanufacturing apparatus, in the transfer chamber of the two-chamber flatdisplay device manufacturing apparatus, a robot is provided. The robothas a function of carrying-in a to-be-processed substrate into theprocess chamber and carrying-out a processed substrate from the processchamber.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in a transfer chamber 200, a robot 300 isinstalled. The robot 300 includes a robot arm 320 having a joint member310 at a predetermined portion thereof and a robot hand 330 connected toone end portion of the robot arm 320. The robot arm 320 rotates around arobot shaft 340 transfer a substrate mounted on the robot hand 330 to aprocess chamber 100. Therefore, the transfer chamber 200 needs to haveat least a volume for ensuring a rotational radius of the robot arm 320.

On the other hand, in case of using the two-chamber flat display devicemanufacturing apparatus, the process time depends on pumping and ventingtime periods in vacuumizing and atmospherically-pressurizing processes.More specifically, after a to-be-processed substrate is inserted into aprocess chamber 100 and the processes are completed, the transferchamber 200 must be maintained in an atmospheric ambience in order totake out the processed substrate from the transfer chamber 200. Inaddition, after the processed substrate is taken out from the transferchamber 200, a new to-be-processed substrate is inserted into theprocess chamber 100, and then, the transfer chamber 200 must bemaintained in a vacuum ambience. The process time for the vacuumizingand atmospherically-pressurizing processes increases in proportion tothe internal volume of the transfer chamber 200.

Therefore, there has been much demand for reducing the internal volumeof the transfer chamber in the two-chamber flat display devicemanufacturing apparatus.

On the other hand, in the three-chamber flat display devicemanufacturing apparatus, there is provided a buffer for loading thesubstrate into the load-lock chamber. Therefore, after theto-be-processed substrate is mounted on the buffer in advance, and then,a robot installed in the transfer chamber takes the to-be-processedsubstrate mounted on the buffer into the process chamber. In addition,the robot takes out the processed substrate from the process chamber andloads the processed substrate on the buffer.

However, since there is not a separate load-lock chamber in thetwo-chamber flat display device manufacturing apparatus, there is aproblem in that it is impossible to provide the buffer to the load-lockchamber.

As a result, the buffer must be provided to the transfer chamber.However, there are several problems in providing the buffer the transferchamber in that the buffer must not interfere with the rotation of therobot 300 installed in the transfer chamber 200.

In addition, in the conventional load-lock chamber, an aligner isprovided to adjust the positions of the buffer and the substrate mountedon the buffer. Therefore, the position of the substrate can beaccurately adjusted and the robot installed in the transfer chamber cantransfer the accurately-adjusted substrate into the process chamber.

Recently, as the size of the processed substrate has been enlarged, theflat display device manufacturing apparatus occupies a large volume in aclean room. Therefore, there has been a demand for implementing thetwo-chamber flat display device manufacturing apparatus by integratingthe load-lock and transfer chambers into a single chamber in order toreduce the volume of the flat display device manufacturing apparatus.

In addition, there is a problem in that the aforementioned aligner usedfor the load-lock chamber in the three-chamber flat display devicemanufacturing apparatus cannot be used for the transfer chamber in thetwo-chamber flat display device manufacturing apparatus. On the otherhand, the position of the substrate has been adjusted by moving theopposite corners of the substrate in diagonal directions with aconventional aligner. However, as the size of the processed substratehas been enlarged, there has been another problem in that theconventional adjusting method of the aligner may cause damage to theenlarged substrate.

Therefore, there is a demand for developing an aligner suitable for thetwo-chamber flat display device manufacturing apparatus.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In order to solve the aforementioned problems, an object of the presentinvention is to provide a flat display device manufacturing apparatuscapable of reducing an interval volume of a transfer chamber by changingan installation position of a robot in the transfer chamber.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a flat displaydevice manufacturing apparatus having a buffer not interfering with themovement of the robot.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide asubstrate-position adjusting member suitable for a two-chamber flatdisplay device manufacturing apparatus.

Further still another object of the present invention is to provide asubstrate-position adjusting member capable of easily adjusting aposition of an enlarged substrate.

Further still another object of the present invention is to provide atransfer chamber flat display device manufacturing apparatus where aneasily exchangeable sealing-member attaching part.

In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, according to an aspectof the present invention, there is provided a transfer chamber for aflat display device manufacturing apparatus, wherein a robot is providedaside from a center of the transfer chamber.

In addition, the transfer chamber for a flat display devicemanufacturing apparatus may further comprise a buffer comprising: abuffer plate having a plurality of buffer fingers; a first driving unitfor supporting and driving some of the buffer fingers; a second drivingunit for supporting and driving others of the buffer fingers; a powersource unit for supplying power used to drive the first and seconddriving units; and a power transmission device for connecting the powersource unit to the first and second driving units to transmit the powersupplied from the power source unit to the first and second drivingunits.

In addition, a robot shaft through-hole which the robot shaft passesthrough may be provided at a predetermined lower portion of the transferchamber, wherein a flange having a predetermined shape is provided atthe upper portion of the robot shaft, and wherein a sealing-memberattaching part where sealing-member attaching positions are provided isfastened at the robot shaft through-hole by using the fastening means.

In addition, the transfer chamber may comprise first substrate-positionadjusting members for adjusting the x-directional movement of asubstrate and second substrate-position adjusting members for adjustingthe y-directional movement of the substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodimentsthereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of transfer and process chambers for aconventional flat display device manufacturing apparatus in case ofputting a robot hand of a robot installed in the transfer chamber intothe process chamber;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the transfer and process chambersfor the conventional flat display device manufacturing apparatus in caseof taking out the robot hand of the robot installed in the transferchamber from the process chamber;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of transfer and process chambers for aflat display device manufacturing apparatus according to the presentinvention in case of putting a robot hand of a robot installed in thetransfer chamber into the process chamber;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the transfer and process chambersfor the flat display device manufacturing apparatus according to thepresent invention in case of taking out the robot hand of the robotinstalled in the transfer chamber from the process chamber;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a buffer installed in the transferchamber for the flat display device manufacturing apparatus according tothe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a structure of a buffer plate accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a structure of a first driving unitaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a structure of a second driving unitaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of a structure of a bellows moduleaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the robot and buffer installed in thetransfer chamber for the flat display device manufacturing apparatusaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a vertical cross sectional view of the transfer chamberaccording to the present invention where sealing members are provided;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a sealing-member attaching partaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a structure of a sealing-memberattaching part having bolts as fastening means;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a structure of a sealing-memberattaching part having a helical thread as fastening means;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the transfer chamber according to thepresent invention in which substrate-position adjusting members areprovided.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a structure of a firstsubstrate-position adjusting member;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a structure of a first substratecontacting member;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a structure of a first contactingpiece;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a structure of a first supportingmember;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a structure of a first driving unit;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a structure of a first driving member;

FIG. 22 is across sectional view of a connectional structure of thefirst driving member and the first substrate contacting member;

FIG. 23 is a cross sectional view of an internal structure of the firstbellows module;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a first-substrate-contacting-membercontrol knob provided to the first driving member;

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of a structure of a secondsubstrate-position adjusting member;

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a structure of a second driving unit;and

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a second-substrate-contacting-membercontrol knob provided to a second driving member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention and operational advantages thereof can be fullyunderstood by referring to the accompanying drawings and explanationsthereof.

Now, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings to explain the presentinvention in detail. In the drawings, the same reference numeralsindicate the same elements.

In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, according to an aspectof the present invention, there is provided a transfer chamber for aflat display device manufacturing apparatus, wherein a robot is providedaside from a center of the transfer chamber.

In addition, the transfer chamber for a flat display devicemanufacturing apparatus may further comprise a buffer comprising: abuffer plate having a plurality of buffer fingers; a first driving unitfor supporting and driving some of the buffer fingers; a second drivingunit for supporting and driving others of the buffer fingers; a powersource unit for supplying power used to drive the first and seconddriving units; and a power transmission device for connecting the powersource unit to the first and second driving units to transmit the powersupplied from the power source unit to the first and second drivingunits.

Now, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

Firstly, in a transfer chamber 200 according to the present invention, arobot 300 comprising a robot shaft 340, a robot arm 320, and a robothand 330 is provided aside from a center of the transfer chamber 200.

As shown in FIG. 3, the robot shaft 340 connected to a driving device(not shown) installed outside of the transfer chamber 200 is providedaside from the center of the chamber 200 unlike a conventional chamber200 of FIG. 1 in which the robot shaft 340 is provided at the center ofthe chamber 200. In addition, the robot arm 320 is connected not to acentral portion of the robot hand 330 but to an end portion of the robothand 330.

In the conventional transfer chamber 200 shown in FIG. 1, since therobot shaft 340 is provided at the center of the transfer chamber 200,the volume of the transfer chamber 200 is increased in order to ensure arotational radius of the robot arm 320. However, in the transfer chamber200 according to the transfer chamber 200 shown in FIG. 3, since therobot shaft 340 is provided aside from the center of the chamber 200,the volume of the transfer chamber 200 can be relatively decreased whilethe rotational radius of the robot arm 320 is ensured.

Since the volume of the transfer chamber 200 is decreased, pumping andventing time periods in a vacuumizing or atmospherically-pressurizingprocess can be relatively reduced, so that it is possible to improve arate of operation of equipment.

In addition, in the transfer chamber 200 of the flat display devicemanufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, a buffer 400is provided. The buffer 400 comprises a buffer plate 410, a firstdriving member 420, a second driving member 430, a power source unit440, and a power transmission device 450.

As shown in FIG. 6, the buffer plate 410 comprises a plurality of bufferfingers. More specifically, the buffer plate 410 has a longbuffer-finger connecting bar 412. Preferably, four buffer fingers 414 a,414 b, 414 c, and 414 d are perpendicularly connected to thebuffer-finger connecting bar 412 at the end portions and predeterminedintermediate portions thereof. Preferably, the buffer fingers 414 a, 414b, 414 c, and 414 d and the buffer-finger connecting bar 412 constitutea plate structure. As shown in FIG. 6, the lengths of the buffer fingers414 a, 414 b, 414 c, and 414 d are so different that the buffer plate410 can move vertically without interference of the robot 300 in thetransfer chamber 200. The first and fourth buffer fingers 414 a and 414d connected to the end portions of the buffer-finger connecting bar 412are long. The second and third buffer fingers 414 b and 414 c are soshort that the robot arm cannot be overlapped. Therefore, the lengths ofsecond and third buffer fingers 414 b and 414 c are shorter than thefirst or fourth buffer fingers 414 a or 414 d by predetermineddistances.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of buffer pins 416 areprovided in a predetermined interval on each of the buffer fingers 414a, 414 b, 414 c, and 414 d and the buffer-finger connecting bar 412. Thebuffer pins 416 are in contact with a substrate to support the substratewhen the substrate is mounted on the buffer 400 in the transfer chamber200.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, each of the buffer fingers 414 a, 414b, 414 c, and 414 d has a bellows engaging hole 418 a, 418 b, 418 c or418 d for engaging the bellows modules with the respective bufferfingers.

As shown in FIG. 5, two driving units of the first and second drivingunits 420 and 430 are provided at the front and rear sides of the buffer400. The detailed components of the first and second driving units 420and 430 are the same. But, the installation positions of the detailedcomponents of the first and second driving units 420 and 430 aredifferent because different buffer fingers are connected to thedifferent driving units. For convenience of description, only thecomponents of the first driving unit 420 will be described, and for thecomponents of the second driving unit 430 only the installationpositions thereof will be described.

The first driving unit 420 is connected to the second and third bufferfingers 414 b and 414 c to support the second and third buffer fingers414 b and 414 c. The first driving unit 420 vertically moves the secondand third buffer fingers 414 b and 414 c by using the power transmittedfrom the power source unit 440. In other words, as shown in FIG. 5, thefirst driving unit 420 is connected to the second and third bufferfingers 414 b and 414 c, that is, short buffer fingers connected to theintermediated portions of the buffer-finger connecting bar 412. Thesecond driving unit 430 is connected to the first and fourth bufferfingers 414 a and 414 d, that is, long buffer fingers connected to theend portions of the buffer-finger connecting bar 412.

As shown in FIG. 7, the first driving unit 420 comprises twointerlocking guides 422, two bellows modules 424 and a driving shaft426.

The two interlocking guides 422 are provided at predetermined positionsof the first driving unit 420. Each of the interlocking guides 422comprises a long cylindrical guide rail 422 a and a guide cylinder 422 bvertically moving with surrounding the guide rail 422 a. The guide rail422 a of each of the interlocking guides 422 is fixed and the guidecylinder 422 b thereof vertically moves, so that the bellows modules 424and the driving shaft 426 can accurately be guided to vertically move.

In addition, the driving shaft 426 comprises a power-transmission-deviceconnecting member 426 b at a predetermined portion thereof and a firstdriving member at another predetermined portion thereof. The drivingshaft 426 comprises a long cylindrical driving shaft column 426 a. Atthe upper portion of the driving shaft column 426 a,power-transmission-device connecting member 426 b connected to the powertransmission device 450 is provided. At the lower portion of thepower-transmission-device connecting member 426 b, a first drivingmember 426 c is provided. The first driving member 426 c has a helicalthread on a surface thereof so that a second driving member 426 d canvertically move with rotation of the driving shaft column 426 a. Inaddition, the second driving member 426 d is a cylinder having acorresponding helical thread on an internal surface thereof tovertically move with surrounding the first driving member 426 c.Therefore, when the first driving member 426 c rotates, the seconddriving member 426 d surrounding the first driving member 426 c canvertically move since the second driving member 426 c has thecorresponding helical thread.

In addition, the two bellows modules 424 are provided at predeterminedportions of the first driving unit 420. The upper ends of the twobellows modules 424 are engaged with the second and third buffer fingers414 b and 414 c. As shown in FIG. 9, each of the bellows modules 424comprises a long cylindrical shaft 424 a, a cylindrical linear bushing424 b connected to the upper portion of the cylindrical shaft 424 a,bellows 424 c connected to the linear bushing 424 b and expansible in alongitudinal direction, and a buffer-plate balance adjusting device 424d connected to the lower portion of the cylindrical shaft 424 a.

Now, functions of the bellows module 424 will be described withreference to FIG. 9. The cylindrical shaft 424 a passing through thelinear bushing 424 b vertically moves. The upper portion of thecylindrical shaft 424 a is shaped similarly to the upper portions of theupper portion of the bellows 424 c, so that the cylindrical shaft 424 acan vertically move within the bellows 424 c. The bellows 424 c isolatesthe internal portion of the bellows 424 c from the external portion ofthe bellows 424 c, so that the cylindrical shaft 424 a can verticallymove while the internal and external portions of the bellows 424 c aremaintained in atmospheric and vacuum ambiences, respectively. Inaddition, the linear bushing 424 b has a function of accuratelyadjusting the vertical movement of the cylindrical shaft 424 a. Inaddition, a bolt is connected to the lower portion of the buffer-platebalance adjusting device 424 d, so that the height of the buffer plate410 connected to the bellows module 424 can be controlled by screwingthe bolt with a tool such as a spanner.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the first driving unit 420, an interlocking plate427 is provided. The lower portion of the bellows modules 424 are fixedconnected to the interlocking plate 427. The second driving member 426 dof the driving shaft 426 is fixed connected to the interlocking plate427 and the driving shaft 426 and the interlocking guides 422 areconnected to pass through the interlocking plate 427, so that theinterlocking plate 427 can be interlocked with the diving of the drivingshaft 426. Namely, the interlocking plate 427 vertically moves accordingto the interlocked movement of the buffer plate 410 via the drivingshaft 426, so that the detailed components of the first and seconddriving units 420 and 430 can accurately move.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, in the first driving unit 420, a lowerplate 428 is provided. The lower plate 428 is connected to the lowerportions of the interlocking guides 422 and driving shaft 426 to fix thefirst driving unit 420 to the transfer chamber 200. The lower plate 428has a function of supporting the detailed components of the firstdriving unit 420 so that the detailed components can accuratelyvertically move.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, in the first driving unit 420, an upperplate 429 is provided. The upper plate 429 is connected to the upperportions of the interlocking guides 422 and driving shaft 426. Thebellows modules 424 are connected to pass through the upper plate 429 atpredetermined portions thereof. The upper plate 429 is provided toextend from the internal portion to the external portion of the transferchamber 200. The upper plate 429 has a function of connecting the firstdriving unit 420 to the transfer chamber 200. The upper and lowersurfaces of the upper plate 429 are located in the internal and externalportions of the transfer chamber 200, respectively.

The detailed components of the second driving unit 430 are the same asthe first driving unit 420. However, as shown in FIG. 8, since thesecond driving unit 430 supports the first and fourth buffer fingers 414a and 414 d, two bellows modules 434 including a cylindrical shaft 434 aare provided at the end portions of the second driving unit 430, and twointerlocking guides 432 including a guide rail 432 a and a guidecylinder 432 b are provided at the intermediate portions of the seconddriving unit 430. The second driving unit 430 also includes a drivingshaft 436 including a column 436 a and first and second driving members436 c and 436 d, an interlocking plate 437, and a lower plate 438.

As shown in FIG. 7, the buffer 400 comprises the power source unit 440.The power source unit 440 supplies power to the first and second drivingunits 420. In the embodiment, the power source unit 440 is provided to apredetermined portion of the interlocking plate 427 of the first drivingunit 420. The power transmission device 450 transmits the power suppliedfrom the power source unit 440 to the first and second driving units 420and 430, so that the buffer 400 can be driven. Preferably, the powersource unit 440 is a motor.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, in the buffer 400, the powertransmission device 450 connects the power source unit 440 with thedriving shaft 426 to transmit the power supplied from the power sourceunit 440 to the driving shaft 426. Since the first and second drivingunits 420 and 430 are connected to each other via the power transmissiondevice 450, the buffer plate can vertically move by simultaneouslyvertically moving the first and second driving units 420 and 430.

As shown in FIG. 10, in the transfer chamber 200, a plurality of viewports 500 are provided at predetermined portions of sides of thetransfer chamber 200, so that the internal portion of the transferchamber 200 can be observed. Each of the view ports 500 has a narrowouter window and a wide inner window, so that the internal portions ofthe transfer chamber 200 can be more widely observed.

Now, a sealing unit installed at the robot installation position in thetransfer chamber of the flat display device manufacturing apparatusaccording to the present invention will be described.

A robot shaft through-hole which the robot shaft passes through isprovided at a predetermined lower portion of the transfer chamber. Aflange having a predetermined shape is provided at the upper portion ofthe robot shaft. In addition, a sealing-member attaching part wheresealing-member attaching positions are provided is fastened at the robotshaft through-hole by using the fastening means.

In addition, the flange is a circular or polygonal member protruded fromthe outer surface of the upper portion of the robot shaft. In addition,the diameter of the flange is larger than that of the robot shaftthrough-hole, and the diameter of the robot shaft is smaller than thatof the robot shaft through-hole.

In addition, a through-hole which the robot shaft 510 can pass though isprovided at a center of the sealing-member attaching part, and thesealing-member attaching part comprises an upper cylindrical portionhaving a small diameter and a lower cylindrical portion having a largediameter.

Preferably, the fastening means is a bolt.

Preferably, the sealing members are O-rings. The sealing-memberattaching positions are provided on the upper and lower cylinderportions of the sealing-member attaching parts.

Firstly, as shown in FIG. 11, in the transfer chamber 800 of the flatdisplay device manufacturing apparatus according to the presentinvention, a robot shaft through-hole 600, a robot 500, and asealing-member attaching part 900 are provided. The robot shaftthrough-hole 600 is a hole which a robot shaft 510 of the robot 500passes through. After the robot shaft 510 is installed to pass throughthe robot shaft through-hole 600, the sealing-member attaching part 900is fastened between the robot shaft 510 and the robot shaft through-hole600 in order to isolate the internal portion of the transfer chamber 800from the external portion thereof.

The robot shaft through-hole 600 is provided to a predetermined lowerportion of the transfer chamber 800. Preferably, the robot shaftthrough-hole 600 has a circular cross section having a diameter enoughfor the robot shaft 510 to pass through.

As shown in FIG. 11, the robot 500 comprises the robot shaft 510, arobot arm 530, a flange 520 and a driving device (not shown). The robotshaft 510 supports the robot arm 530 and connects the robot 500 with thedriving device (not shown). In addition, the robot arm 530 is connectedto the upper portion of the robot shaft 510. The robot arm 530 has ajoint member to rotate. In addition, the flange 520 is a circular orpolygonal member protruded from the outer surface of the upper portionof the robot shaft 510. The flange 520 is closely attached on the bottomof the transfer chamber 800 when the robot 500 is installed in thetransfer chamber 800.

Preferably, the diameter of the flange 520 is larger than that of therobot shaft through-hole 600, and the diameter of the robot shaft 510 issmaller than that of the robot shaft through-hole 600.

As shown in FIG. 12, a through-hole 910 is provided at the center of thesealing-member attaching part 900, so that the robot shaft 510 can passthough the through-hole 910. In addition, the sealing-member attachingpart 900 comprises an upper cylindrical portion 920 having a smalldiameter and a lower cylindrical portion 930 having a large diameter.The sealing-member attaching part 900 is fastened to the transferchamber 800 by using fastening means 940 and 950. Preferably, thefastening means 940 is a bolt.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 14, the fastening means 950 may beimplemented by forming a helical thread on the outer surface of theupper cylinder 920 and fastening the helical thread to a helical threadformed on the inner surface of the robot shaft through-hole 600.

Preferably, the sealing members 700 shown in FIG. 11 are O-rings. Thesealing members 700 are attached into the sealing-member attachingpositions 960 a and 960 b formed on the sealing-member attaching part900.

In a case where the sealing members 700 a and 700 b are provided to thetransfer chamber 800 by using the sealing-member attaching part 900, thesealing-member attaching part 900 can be simply detached from thetransfer chamber 800 by removing only the fastening means 940 and 950,so that it is possible to exchange the sealing members 700.

Now, preferred embodiments of substrate-position adjusting membersprovided at predetermined portions of the aforementioned transferchamber will be described.

The transfer chamber according to the present invention comprises firstsubstrate-position adjusting members for adjusting the x-directionalmovement of a substrate and second substrate-position adjusting membersfor adjusting the y-directional movement of the substrate.

Now, predetermined embodiments of the substrate-position adjustingmembers installed in the transfer chamber for the flat display devicemanufacturing apparatus will be described in detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings. By the preferred embodiments, theconstructions and functions of the present invention can be more clearlyunderstood.

As shown in FIG. 15, the transfer chamber 1200 according to the presentinvention comprises two first substrate-position adjusting members 1000for adjusting the x-directional movement of a substrate and two secondsubstrate-position adjusting members 1100 for adjusting they-directional movement of the substrate.

As shown in FIG. 16, each of the first substrate-position adjustingmembers 1000 comprises a first substrate contacting member 1010, a firstsupporting member 1020, and a first driving unit 1030.

The two first substrate contacting members 1010 provided at the bothsides of the transfer chamber 1200 have a shape of a long bar to crossover the both side of the transfer chamber 1200. As shown in FIG. 17, aplurality of first contacting pieces 1012 are provided in apredetermined interval on the first substrate contacting member 1010. Asshown in FIG. 18, each of the first contacting pieces 1012 can pivotallyrotate around its own axis. Therefore, first contacting pieces 1012 arein contact with circumferential portion of the substrate (not shown) tomove the substrate. Preferably, the first contacting pieces 1012 aremade of an engineering plastic material such as TEFLON.

As shown in FIG. 16, one end portion of the first substrate contactingmember 1010 is connected to the first supporting member 1020. As shownin FIG. 19, the first supporting member 1020 has a structure ofhorizontally sliding the first substrate contacting member 1010 in the xdirection. The first contacting pieces 1012 are provided to pass througha wall of the transfer chamber 1200, so that the first substratecontacting member 1010 connected to the first supporting member 1020 canhorizontally slide in the x direction.

The other end portion of the first substrate contacting member 1010 isconnected to the first driving unit 1030. As shown in FIG. 20, the firstdriving unit 1030 has a structure of horizontally moving the firstsubstrate contacting member 1010 in the x direction. In addition, thefirst driving unit 1030 is provided to pass through the wall of thetransfer chamber 1200.

As shown in FIG. 21, the first driving unit 1030 further comprises afirst driving member 1032 for driving the first substrate contactingmember 1010. Preferably, the first driving member 1032 is a motor. Asshown in FIG. 22, the first driving member 1032 is connected to thefirst substrate contacting member 1010 via a first bellow module 1034.The first bellow module 1034 has a function of horizontally moving thefirst substrate contacting member 1010 in the x direction while theinterval portion of the transfer chamber 1200 where the first substratecontacting member 1010 is installed and the internal portion of thetransfer chamber 1200 where the first driving member 1032 is installedare maintained in atmospheric and vacuum ambiences, respectively.Namely, as shown in FIG. 23, since the driving shaft 1036 connected tothe first driving member 1032 are surrounded by the expansible bellowmodule 1034, it is possible to maintain the vacuum ambience even in caseof the driving shaft 1036 moving.

Preferably, as shown in FIG. 24, the first driving member 1032 furthercomprises a first-substrate-contacting-member control knob 1038. Byusing the first-substrate-contacting-member control knob 1038, the firstcontacting pieces 1012 can be manually moved up to a vicinity of thesubstrate before the first contacting pieces 1012 are in contact withthe substrate.

As shown in FIG. 25, each of the two second substrate-position adjustingmembers 1100 comprises a second substrate contacting member 1110, twosecond supporting members 1120, and a second driving unit 1130.

The detailed components of the second substrate-position adjustingmember 1100 are the same as the first substrate-position adjustingmembers 1000. But, structures and functions of the detailed componentsof the second substrate-position adjusting member 1100 are differentfrom the first substrate-position adjusting members 1000. Now, thedifferent structures and functions will be described.

The two second substrate-position adjusting members 1100 are provided atthe both sides of the transfer chamber 1200 where the firstsubstrate-position adjusting members 1000 are not provided.

As shown in FIG. 17, similarly to the first substrate contacting member1010, the second substrate contacting member 1110 has a shape of a longbar, and a plurality of second contacting pieces 1112 are provided in apredetermined interval on the second substrate contacting member 1110.Preferably, as shown in FIG. 15, the first contacting pieces 1012 areprovided on the upper surface of the first substrate contacting member1010 and the second contacting pieces 1112 are provided on the lowersurface of the second substrate contacting member 1110. As a result, itis possible not to overlap the installation positions of the componentsinstalled outside of the transfer chamber 1200 such as the first andsecond driving members 1032 and 1132 of the first and secondsubstrate-position adjusting members 1000 and 1100. In addition, it ispossible not to overlap the movement radii of the first and secondsubstrate contacting members 1010 and 1110.

The structure and material of the second contacting pieces 1112 are thesame as the first contacting pieces 1012.

The second supporting members 1120 a and 1120 b are connected to therespective end portions of the second substrate contacting member 1110.The second supporting members 1120 connected to the end portions of thesecond substrate contacting member 1110 support to the second substratecontacting member 1110. The second supporting members 1120 a and 1120 bare provided to pass through the wall of the transfer chamber 1200, sothat the second substrate contacting member 1110 can horizontally slidein the y direction.

As shown in FIG. 25, the second driving unit 1130 is connected to thecentral portion of the second substrate contacting member 1110. Thesecond driving unit 1130 is provided to pass through the wall of thetransfer chamber 1200, so that the second substrate contacting member1110 can horizontally slide in the y direction. As shown in FIG. 26, thesecond driving unit 1130 further comprises a second driving member 1132used to slide the second substrate contacting member 1110. The seconddriving member 1132 provided outside of the transfer chamber isconnected to the second driving unit 1130. The second driving member1132 is connected to the second substrate contacting member 1110 via asecond bellows module (not shown), so that it is possible to drive thesecond substrate contacting member 1110 while maintaining the vacuumambience of the internal portion of the transfer chamber 1200.

Preferably, as shown in FIG. 27, the second driving unit 1030 furthercomprises a second-substrate-contacting-member control knob 1134.Similarly to the first-substrate-contacting-member control knob 1138, byusing the second-substrate-contacting-member control knob 1134, thesecond contacting pieces 1112 can be manually moved up to a vicinity ofthe substrate before the second contacting pieces 1112 are in contactwith the substrate.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details maybe made there in without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A transfer chamber for a flat display device manufacturing apparatus, the transfer chamber comprising: a pair of first substrate-position adjusting members respectively provided at first and second sides of the transfer chamber, wherein each of the pair of first substrate-position adjusting members comprises: a first substrate contacting member that extends along a respective side of the transfer chamber; a first supporting member connected to a first end portion of the first substrate contacting member; and a first driving unit connected to a second end portion of the first substrate contacting member opposite the first end portion; a pair of second substrate position-adjusting members respectively provided at third and fourth sides of the transfer chamber, the first and second sides of the transfer chamber being opposite each other and the third and fourth sides of the transfer chamber being opposite each other, wherein the pair of first substrate-position adjusting members and the pair of second substrate-position adjusting members are configured to receive a substrate thereon so as to adjust an x-directional and a y-directional movement of the substrate, respectively; and a plurality of first contacting pieces provided at predetermined intervals on the first substrate contacting member.
 2. The transfer chamber of claim 1, wherein the first supporting member extends through a corresponding wall of the transfer chamber, and wherein the first supporting member is configured to slide the first substrate contacting member.
 3. The transfer chamber of claim 1, wherein the first driving unit extends through the wall of the transfer chamber, and wherein the first driving unit is configured to move the first substrate contacting member.
 4. The transfer chamber of claim 1, wherein the first driving unit further comprises a first driving member that drives the first substrate contacting member.
 5. The transfer chamber of claim 3, further comprising a first bellows module that connects the first driving member to the first substrate contacting member.
 6. The transfer chamber of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of first contacting pieces pivotally rotates about its own axis.
 7. The transfer chamber of claim 5, wherein the plurality of first contacting pieces are made of an engineered plastic material.
 8. The transfer chamber of claim 1, wherein the first driving member further comprises a first-substrate-contacting-member control member.
 9. The transfer chamber of claim 8, wherein the pair of second supporting members extend into a corresponding wall of the transfer chamber, and wherein the second supporting members are configured to horizontally slide the second substrate contacting member in a y direction.
 10. The transfer chamber of claim 8, wherein the second driving unit extends through a corresponding wall of the transfer chamber, and wherein the second driving unit is configured to move the second substrate contacting member.
 11. The transfer chamber of claim 10, further comprising a second bellows module that connects the second driving member to the second substrate contacting member.
 12. The transfer chamber of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of second contacting pieces pivotally rotates about its own axis.
 13. The transfer chamber of claim 11, wherein the plurality of second contacting pieces are made of an engineered plastic material.
 14. The transfer chamber of claim 8, wherein the second driving unit further comprises a second driving member that drives the second substrate contacting member.
 15. The transfer chamber of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of second contacting pieces provided at predetermined intervals on the second substrate contacting member.
 16. The transfer chamber of claim 8, wherein the second driving member further comprises a second-substrate-contacting-member control member.
 17. The transfer chamber of claim 1, wherein each of the pair of second substrate-position adjusting members comprises: a second substrate contacting member; a pair of second supporting members respectively connected to opposite end portions of the second substrate contacting member; and a second driving unit connected to a central portion of the second substrate contacting member. 